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Ranking my favourite Led Zeppelin songs

I wouldn’t have done this, but my fellow friend @benjix21 requested that I write a blog about it. You might think of Led Zeppelin as a heavy metal and hard rock band, but it is more. Led Zeppelin is also an extremely good folk band. I feel that their acoustics songs are as good as their electric and each member of the band would make the line-up of my dream band. Without a doubt, this is the biggest and baddest band in existence. I felt horrible to miss out on some of my very favorite songs and it was hard for me to decide which songs to select for my list of top songs. So here I have made 2 lists, a short one for the acoustics and a longer one for the electrics.

If there are some newbies listening to Led Zeppelin, here is my take on the best Led Zeppelin songs.

Acoustics

5. Hey Hey What Can I DoIt’s pretty unfair ranking this song to no. 5. It’s here only cause the others were better. This song is a decent song, easy to listen to with a folk vibe. It is an easy cheerful song to play with some country instruments playing as well.

4. Bron-Yr-AurNamed after a lake in Wales, this is an instrumental and is one of Jimmy Pages finest acoustic performance. This short song gives the folk vibes with no drums but a very ambient sound in the background, guaranteed to give you a pleasant mood as if you’re sitting on a hill watching a river flow. The tunings are altered so it takes quite to set up the tuning and to learn the song. Also listen to Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp, it’s a little different tough.

3. Babe I’m Gonna Leave YouThis is a song with one of those very smooth guitar parts. It has a nice plucking rhythm guitar and has some very strong vocals from Robert Plant. It is a good song which sets up a decent mood. It has a little bit of Spanish feel with the guitar. Though acoustic, it has a good energy to it. Pretty decent song from Led Zeppelins untitled first album which ws entirely recorded in 30 hours.

2. Going to CaliforniaThis was my favorite country song for quite some while. This song has got Jimmy Page playing guitar in his alternate guitar tuning so it is hard to cover. John Paul Jones, as talented as he plays the Ukelele in it to give this song a unique vibe. With no drums again, Robert Plant has a good smooth vocal which covers up for it.

1. The Rain SongAgain one of those very hard songs to cover. This song is unreal. It is so good, it gets you sweeping. It the very soft guitar of Jimmy Page to some very slick orchestrated music, and the sweetness in Robert Plant’s vocals will get you melting. This song will set you to a slow, groovy mood. Makes it fell like it’s spring every time you listen to it.

Electrics

10. Good Times Bad TimesThere isn’t much to explain.but you’ve got to give the heads up to this song with fine drums from Bonzo. This song is a short and simple with a good melody to it. Nothing too special about it but it is a song with simple structure but there something in that simplicity which brings it here on the list by creating something out of nothing. It needs a good coordination to perform this song right.

9. No QuarterAs I’ve mentioned before, John Paul Jones’s talent has no limits. He plays the synthesizers this time around and owns it. The delay effect on vocal makes this song even better. The guitar isn’t heavy and is pretty slow. Yet another lengthy song but that’s the thing about Led Zeppelin. You don’t feel it’s unnecessarily long and you will enjoy the music throughout the song with some decent less highlighted solo.

8. When The Levee BreaksA couple of friends of mine would tell me that this is the best Zeppelin song and I wouldn’t doubt them. This song from Led Zeppelin IV, the same album with Stairway to Heaven probably overshadows this song but it’s got the calmness and composure. It’s a smooth flowing song, easy to listen with harmonicas, guitars and high reverb drums.

7. Dazed and ConfusedFrom the first album of Led Zeppelin, he shocks the audience by playing guitar with a violin bow. Though the Yardbird version of the song is poor, Plant manages to make a lot of improvement. It shows what a talisman Jimmy Page is and how innovative he is with producing a different never heard before sound with guitar effects and techniques which many still cannot get hold of. Every Ledhead is a sucker for this song. It won’t stop giving you the shrill. Pretty progressive, experimental and lengthy, there’s everything to be excited about.

6. The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair
You can’t find this on an published album but you can find it in their BBC Live session. It’s a song with a trippy blues progression with a good guitar solo with crunchy guitar and an excellent band performance. Many Ledheads don’t know about this performance so this is something you can brag about.

5. KashmirThis song is so good that you should forget about listening to covers of the song. It is a bit progressive and has a little bit of an orchestra with it. Without a doubt, no one in the world could possibly come close to Robert’s vocal in this song. It shows why he is the absolutely best and no one would dare argue that he is among the world’s very best vocalist. With the brilliance of the band’s composition, Kashmir is a song that puts Led Zeppelin among one of the best bands of the world. It will always leave you with goosebumps. Get ready for some slow head banging grove.

4. HeartbreakerYou could call this the signature Zeppelin song, one with a killer riff and an awesome guitar solo.Van Halen was influenced by Jimmy Page and came up with tapping when he saw the hammer on and pull offs that Jimmy presents in this song. The solo is purely about emotions and putting string bending to the limit. Also listen to Black Dog and Whole Lotta Love, which I listened to while I was a newbie and equally enjoyed them.

3. Stairway to HeavenPerhaps I don’t need to get started with this song. It is probably Led Zeppelins most famous song, one that probably everyone has heard. It’s got a stand out intro guitar and synthesizers making it mystique. It’s solo has been listed as the best solo in the world by Gibson guitar and why not. Jimmy absolutely nails it with a great combination of slow and smooth plucking to the soulful solo. The double neck Gibson guitar Jimmy uses on live performances is revolutionary. The song has some wise lyrics to the song and as a matter of fact, everyone bows to Zeppelin for this composition.

2. Since I’ve Been Loving YouThough Jimmy Page is known for his heavy guitar riffs, he shows how good he can play the blues. This is probably one of the best blues song that exisits. It’s not an easy song to cover, not even for people with expertise in blues guitar. This shows the other side of Page with versatility than you would normally imagine.

1. Over The Hills And Far AwayEverybody’s got their own choices right? For me, Over The Hills And Far Away was a song I listened to very late on since I listened to Zeppelin and I was astonished. I was walking in the middle of the streets listening to it in my experimental playlist in my iPod and I began dancing. It’s sets a pleasant mood and has got a soothing guitar with a perfect blend of clean and crunching guitar.